Bus bars for HV (hybrid vehicle) battery arrays may be attached via studs on the battery cells. Nuts may be threaded and tightened on the studs to form a strong, electrically-conductive joint. The studs may be used to locate the bus bars in the correct location for contact of the bus bars with the cell terminal on the battery cell.
In some applications, it may be desirable to attach the bus bars to the cell terminals on the battery cell via welding. However, there may be differences in height between the positive and negative terminals on the battery cell. This may leave gaps between the bus bars and the terminals, compromising the integrity of the welds which secure the bus bars to the cell terminals.
Accordingly, a deformable bus bar assembly and a bus bar installation method which compensate for differences in height between adjacent terminals on an HV battery may be desirable.